Eurovision's biggest moments in last round before grand final

Yahoo

15-05-2025

Remember Monday gave a nod to Bucks Fizz as they performed at the Eurovision Song Contest's second semi-final.
Best friends Charlotte Steele, Holly-Anne Hull and Lauren Byrne - who met at college in 2013 - performed in Basel in Switzerland on Thursday, 15 May. However, they weren't one of the 16 countries fighting for the 10 remaining slots in Saturday's final because they were already through as one of the Big Five.
Their performance was one of the highlights of the semi-final, which included commentary from Rylan and Scott Mills for viewers in the UK and included a stage dive, a song about Soviet space dog Laika and some eye-opening outfits.
We have a look at some of the night's standout moments.
Rylan declared that Remember Monday's vocals were "ridiculously off the chain" after they performed What The Hell Just Happened? during the show.
Singers Charlotte Steele, Holly-Anne Hull and Lauren Byrne gave it their all on stage, with a glossy routine that included a little nod to former UK Eurovision champs Bucks Fizz. In 1981, Cheryl Baker and co gave the UK one of its biggest moments at the contest with their skirt-rip move during Making Your Mind Up, and went on to win.
Steele, Hull and Byrne started their song with long skirts, then whipped them off to reveal shorter ones underneath as they strode down the stage.
"If that was the final performance, especially with juries, they've got to love us... come on, you can't deny them!" Rylan insisted. "Zero nerves," added an impressed Mills.
Singer EMMY made a splash for Ireland with her catchy number based on the story of Laika, the Soviet dog who was sent into space in 1957.
Laika orbited the Earth on Sputnik II, but died after a few hours.
However, Norwegian singer EMMY's quirky track Laika Party reimagined her story, and had her living on and enjoying her days in space. "I hope Laika never died and that she spins around us still, and that she has a party in the air and always will," it went.
"I hope that she is dancing every night among the stars. I hopе Laika is alive."
The performance also featured some dramatic staging, with a huge dog of lights above EMMY's head as she belted out the track.
Austria's act JJ entered the semi-final as one of the favourites, and he showed everyone why. His performance of pop opera track Wasted Love showcased his powerful vocals, and the crowd went wild as he sang on an eye-catching set made to look like a sea scene.
"That was an incredible song," said Rylan.
With just days to go until the grand finale, Sweden is thought to be a shoe-in for the win. But JJ, 24, is behind them with odds of 5/2 from bookmaker William Hill.
It wouldn't be Eurovision without some outlandish outfits, and it was Nina Zizic's unusual white get up that had Mills and Rylan scratching their heads.
The singer - Montenegro's act in the contest - hit the stage in a white dress with a huge circle of material around her head. The UK's commentators couldn't work out what it was, with Rylan wondering: "We are not sure whether it is a large hat, a coat or a quilt?"
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After Zizic had finished singing her song Dobrodosli, he joked: "I know what it reminds me of now. You know what a dog wears when it's had an op and it's not allowed to scratch?"
Israeli performer Yuval Raphael - a survivor of the 2023 Hamas attacks - made it through to the final.
It was reported that local campaigners apparently attempted to place Palestinian flags on the parade route when the contest was launched.
However, everything went smoothly as she performed New Day Will Rise on stage on the night.
Eurovision host Hazel Brugger launched herself into the crowd in a stage dive after explaining that she wanted to see if the fans could carry her.
"I know that you can metaphorically carry us through the evening but can you actually literally carry me? Let's find out!" she said.
The star, who was clad in a sparkly silver dress, then lay back and let herself be passed over the heads of the audience. She carried on interviewing people as she was moved along, asking fans their ages or whether it was their first Eurovision.
The scene tickled Rylan, who giggled: "I kind of love her!"
Malta's entry entertained the crowd with a performance of her song, Serving, that was pure Eurovision.
Singer Miriana Conte pulled out all the stops with a dazzling set that saw her singing inside a giant pair of shiny red lips. Her dancers gave a racy display, laying on their backs and parting their legs as she performed.
The routine closed with Conte and some of the dancers bouncing enthusiastically on huge red exercise balls as the fans clapped and cheered.
"This girl is great and she has really embraced Eurovision with her arms and everything else," said Rylan.
The semi-final also included a segment devoted to songs that were meant to have been performed at Eurovision, but didn't make it to the stage because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Brugger told the audience: "Five years ago celebrating together was impossible. In March of 2020 the Eurovision Song Contest was cancelled for that year, the first time in its long history."
Her co-host Sandra Studer chimed in: "The world stood still because of a pandemic and many songs were never sung on the stage they were actually made for... it's time to fill that gap! Tonight some of the lost Eurovision acts of 2020 finally get the stage and the audience they deserve."
Several acts then performed the Eurovision tracks they'd had to scrap amid Covid.
Once the votes were counted, 10 acts went through to the final this weekend. The countries that made it included Lithuania, Israel, Armenia, Denmark, Austria and Luxembourg. Finland, Latvia, Malta and Greece were also successful.
However, the Eurovision journey ended for the acts from Australia, Montenegro, Ireland, Georgia, Czechia and Serbia.
The Eurovision 2025 final will be broadcast on BBC One on Saturday, 17 May.